• BIOL1700
• Food Studies

The aim of this module is to introduce basic topics and concepts related to food, nutrition, dietetics and social studies and provide a foundation for future studies. It is comprised of six areas: Food Preparation, Food Science, Dietetics, Nutrition, Catering Management and Social Studies. Theoretical knowledge on nutrition, food science, dietetics and social studies is integrated with practical skills in food preparation, dietary assessment, healthy eating and anthropometry. It is essential to prepare students for Practice Placement A (BIOL1010).

Lectures:
1. The chemical and physical properties of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and additives.
2. Food colloidal systems; their production and stability.
3. The factors that impact on shelf-life.
4. How processing and preservation affect shelf-life and nutritional quality.
5. Factors affecting food choice.
6. Introduction to national and international healthy eating promotion campaigns.
7. Dietary composition.
8. Diet in low-income groups.
9. Vegetarian, vegan and ethnic diets, including the contribution of staple foods.
10. Introduction to nutrition policy, dietary guidelines and dietary reference values.
11. Institutional food policies recommended by statutory bodies.
12. Relationships between nutrition and other fields of study including biochemistry, medicine, community health, economics, psychology.
13. Brief overview of body composition and methodologies for measurement of body composition.
14. The Irish diet compared with other national diets.
15. Core concepts in nutrition including nutrient balance and adequacy.
16. Food Labelling
17. The structure of human societies: family; community; government.
18. Social divisions: gender, social class, ethnicity.
19. Population pressures: economic, including employment, migration, political, the media, morality, religion.
10. General outline of the catering industry and role of the catering manager.
11. Functions of the catering services department.
12. Menu planning, provisioning and procurement.
13. Processing of food.
14. Purveying.
15. Legislation relating to hygiene, and safety.
16. Office administration.
17. Interaction between catering and clinical departments.
Practicals
1. Preparation and classification of foods giving consideration to their nutritional content; commodities used in cookery
2. Food service planning
3. Hygiene (including HACCP) and safety.
4. Anthropometric measurement of the human body;
5. Analysis of the composition of foods. Introduction to methods for measuring food intake in humans.